CRYSTAL METH - OFTEN FREE -

It's been a steady decline over the past few years for a couple of
Oceanside's young men, and now, while the mother of one is finding
peace through her son's improvement, the other is still struggling
with the challenges of having a child addicted to crystal meth.

He had a pretty normal life, he was into sports ... and stuff, liked
to listen to music and play," says Carolyn of her only son David (all
names in this story have been changed to protect the families' anonymity).

While David's interests weren't unlike most of his peers, Carolyn
admits they realized he had some self-esteem issues.

He always felt like he didn't fit it," says Carolyn of David's time in
school. He was a worry from quite a young age."

That, she explains, led to him skipping school, marijuana use and the
eventual downward slope he's riding now. Addicted to crystal
methamphetamine, Carolyn doesn't know where her sixteen-year old son
sleeps every night. She sees him when he chooses to come home, usually
in a deep depression as he comes off drugs that can keep him awake for
a week straight.

David's story is becoming a common one for many frontline workers in
Oceanside say organizers of a new meth task force, especially since
the fall of 2004 when they say the highly addictive drug became more
prevalent.

He's told me that it's something that's all over the place ... a lot
of the time it's free," says Carolyn - the result of a fairly cheap
drug created by easily-attainable products like batteries, drain
cleaner, allergy medication and more.

While she worries about other youth - like the 13-year old girl David
said he saw try meth one day with friends - she worries the most about
her own. Watching him deteriorate, she says, has been indescribably
hard on her and her husband - both professionals who don't use drugs
and only have the odd drink.

You get sort of a mourning for your real son - I feel like I've lost
him in a lot of ways ... I worry about his future," says Carolyn. With
only a Grade 8 education, she says he has a lot of hurdles to overcome.

There is hope though, says Susan, another Oceanside mom who's seen
what Carolyn's watching now. At the height of her son Kevin's
addiction, he had dropped from 170 to 110 pounds, and wouldn't come
home for days at a time.

Kevin's story sounds very similar to David's - struggling to fit in,
turning to 'gateway' drugs like marijuana before dropping out of
school and getting addicted to meth.

He's been on a bad track for three years," says Susan. While Susan and
her husband knew Kevin was struggling, when they realized the extent
of his drug use, they were shocked.

That's how we went for a longtime," says Susan of their
misunderstanding over how serious it had become. Our son was home
every night."

He started stealing from them to support his habit though, and then
couch-hopping amongst 'friends' houses in the area.

There's lots of places where they can live for a week," says Susan. I
think parents - we didn't know, we didn't, how prevalent it was out
there."

Both add that it's not just their children, who may have been more
vulnerable because of personality challenges before, who are using
crystal meth. Youth of all walks of life are trying it for all
different reasons, they say - for the high, to lose weight, to be able
to stay up all night to study.

While both women say it's hard to make kids get the help they need,
there are some things in Oceanside that work well.

Carolyn says David seems to be really responding to a youth-care
worker who spends a lot of time on the street. Susan says Kevin
responded to that as well - but has done even better since he's left
the community.

There is no urgent care available in Oceanside they both note, and
getting drug-addicted teens to Nanaimo and Victoria (where there are
no lockdown facilities) can be an insurpassable obstacle.

They are so crazy when they're on those drugs, and they're on them for
so long that their brains don't work," says Susan.

While their sons are at different stages, both women agree that the
effect on the families, and themselves has been difficult.

You also get a feeling of failure as a parent, you feel like 'where
have I gone wrong' and you feel embarrassed," says Carolyn.

Susan says while there are big challenges for the families of addicts,
there is still hope that the right kind of help can be found for everyone.

There is hope, and not give up hope because I know they feel hopeless
sometime," says Susan. There are kids that get off it, and there's
many new different approaches."